How taking multivitamins can save your life

Long before the New York attorney general had his secret investigation into chain-store supplements, multivitamins were a favorite target.

Now, two new big studies should quiet the naysayers –once and for all.

One, published in the January edition of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, noted that about 40 percent of adults are deficient in vitamin A, C, D, E, calcium and magnesium. That means many people aren’t getting enough nutrients from food sources to keep various diseases at bay.

And those who took multivitamins — well, guess what? They were less deficient in micronutrients than those who didn’t.

What a surprise!

The second study makes an even a stronger case for multivitamin use. Done by UCLA researchers, it reviewed results of the landmark Physicians’ Health Study II.

That study followed generally healthy middle-aged and older men for a period of 11 years. And its methodology is considered the “gold standard” in such research.

The review showed multivitamins lowered cancer risk by 27 percent among men with a history of cancer and 8 percent among those with no previous history.

That could mean preventing “approximately 68,000 cancers per year if all men were to use similar supplements.”

Now, that may not make the squawking heads give up trying to discredit multivitamins, but it gives those of us in the pro-supplement camp a lot more ammunition.

And if your family, friends or even your doctor think you’re wrong to be taking supplements, remember this: Living well (and longer) is the best revenge.

Source:

“Ending the multivitamin debate: Why taking one may actually save your life” Dr. Jennifer Landa, February 2, 2015, Fox News, foxnews.com